


Five Times John or Elizabeth was jealous

by Oparu



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-24
Updated: 2010-03-24
Packaged: 2017-10-08 06:59:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/73940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oparu/pseuds/Oparu





	Five Times John or Elizabeth was jealous

  
One:

Her mother closed her eyes as her father wrapped his arms around her waist, laughing softly her mother turned back to kiss him. Elizabeth heard the sound of lips touching and the soft rustle of hands against clothing. Sliding to the edge of the table, she peered out from under the white lace cloth. Neither of them knew she was there.

She was supposed to be in bed, but she liked to sneak out and watch her parents talk to each other. Her father wasn't around much, her mother always said his work was very important. He'd been home for dinner tonight because something had been cancelled. Something he was supposed to be at doing important things; Elizabeth hugged her stuffed puppy closer and watched them.

Her mother turned around in her father's arms and let him lean her back into the sink. Her father's voice whispered something she couldn't hear and her mother laughed again. Elizabeth rubbed a sleepy eye with her hand and wondered when, if ever she'd have someone look at her like that and be completely and utterly loved.  


* * *

  
Two:

Princess Leia watched Han Solo disappear behind the mist of the carbonite freezing chamber and something in her eyes crumbled into despair. John reached across the pile of books and papers on his bed and paused the tape. Leia stared at him through the glass of his television; even broken, desperate and completely destroyed she was resolute. He shoved his copy of Popular Science out of the way and sat inches away from the television.

He rewound the tape and watched it again. The kiss the Stormtroopers pulled Han and Leia away from hurt him in a way he couldn't put his finger on. He glanced over at the shelf and thought about popping in "Return of the Jedi" so he could watch Leia in the metal bikini. He didn't move, he just pressed play again. Maybe it was the way they stared at each other, or the way she just come out with.

"I know," John whispered along with the tape. Someday, he promised himself, that was what it was supposed to be. Being in love wasn't the fights about money his foster-parents had; being in love was staring at someone and saying everything in your heart without speaking.

As the phone rang across his bedroom, John paused the tape and picked it up.

"No, I'm not doing anything important...just watching Star Wars..." John paused and lied through his teeth, "yeah, I'm just staring at that bikini...no, there's nothing else good in there."

He reached for his notebook and ripped out the assignment on the front page. "I got x equals five fourths for number seventeen, you got what again?" Behind him in the VCR Leia and Han waited to be reunited again, if he ever got past that scene.  


* * *

  
Three:

"I ran into your Simon the other day," Elizabeth's mother started to say. "There was a very nice woman with him, a new doctor he's working on some big project with. Have you met her?"

"Mom," Elizabeth cut her off quickly staring down at her untouched piece of chocolate cake. "We broke up, he's seeing that very nice woman," she explained as she set down her fork. Reaching for her coffee, she wondered if it was too early in day to ask for a glass of wine.

"Bridget?" Her mother asked frowning as she licked frosting from her fork. "I suppose that would explain why they were in the jewelry store..." her mother drifted off in thought and Elizabeth waved down their waitress.

"Could I get a glass of wine?" Elizabeth requested as she stared at the list of reds.

"Oh honey," her mother covered her mouth in surprise as she realized what she'd wandered into. Taking the list from her daughter, she scrolled down the list until she found the one she wanted. "Just bring us a bottle of Scheurebe Trockenbeerenauslese," she sent the waitress away and reached across the table to take her daughter's hand. "I saw them in there looking at the rings, and I thought you might have finally...I'm so sorry, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth took a long drink of her coffee and avoided her mother's eyes. "I should have told you we broke up, I just thought it wasn't important," she replied as she forced herself to look up. "He must be marrying her then."

"He did have a lovely ring," her mother volunteered wryly. "I guess I'm just not as perceptive as I ought to be. I got all caught up in fantasies of you married and working on less-than-super-secret projects you could actually tell me about."

Elizabeth avoided answering her mother's wishes when the waitress arrived and poured the wine. Reading the bottle, she realized her mother had picked the most expensive one on the menu. "This is an eighty dollar bottle of wine, mom," she pointed out aloud.

"How many times am I going to find out your ex is marrying some red-headed floozy?" her mother asked rhetorically as she lifted her glass. "Here's to my daughter, who is doing something amazing, even if she can't tell me about it."

Elizabeth barely tasted the wine as she took a sip. Simon was getting married and the only thing she had on Earth to look forward to was a bottle of wine and her mother's company. She couldn't help feeling a rush of warmth for her mother; who had always supported her, but at the same time, for a moment, she wondered if she'd be happier as Elizabeth Wallace.  


* * *

  
Four:

"She looked really nice," Rodney admitted as he moved his rook. "Like really nice, in this green sweater."

"She never wears green," John muttered as he shoved a pawn forward to be taken and settled back into his chair in the cafeteria. "They were here?"

"For awhile, then they went to one of the piers, Zelenka heard something about a picnic," Rodney reported, gleefully trying not to let John realize he was losing the game. Taking the pawn with his queen, he waited for John to move. "It was Mike Branton, I think he works for someone under Katie, somewhere, he's a..."

"Geologist," John growled as his fingers tightened unreasonably around the knight in his hand. "He's part of the same department as Katie."

"Did you ask her about it?" Rodney wondered as he pounced on John's knight with a bishop his friend had missed.

"No," John muttered, flustered that he'd missed seeing the piece that was now threatening his king. "There was the funeral, and she's been so busy...it just hasn't seemed like the right time," he couldn't look up and Rodney knew it.

"Katie says you should just ask her out," Rodney suggested firmly. "Apparently she told Mike she doesn't date people beneath her and you're not, beneath her I mean."

"I'm on top Rodney?" John joked sardonically as he found a way to take the bishop with a rook he'd nearly forgotten he still had. "She's the leader of Atlantis."

"You're the military commander," Rodney argued back as he stared at the board and pouted the loss of his bishop. "You're supposed to be the one who can make all the tough decisions with her. You're her equal," he stopped suddenly, laughing in astonishment as he moved his queen. "Checkmate!"

"No," John sputtered in shock as he stared at the board. After a long pause, he realized Rodney was right; he'd been beaten.

Rodney was nearly out of his chair in excitement. "I've never beaten you," he murmured in surprise.

"Well, it's going to be the last time," John snapped angrily as he ran a hand through his hair. "We're equals?"

"Well, all the civilians would listen to her first, but yeah," Rodney reminded him as he collected his pieces to start again. "You're just about on the same level."

"Just about?" John wondered as he stared at his fallen king.

Shrugging, Rodney wished he could read through John's sullen expression. "Close enough, come on set them up, I want to beat you again."  


* * *

  
Five:

"It's a blind date," Teyla reminded Elizabeth as she fussed with her pale pink shirt. "I believe that means I can't tell you who it is with."

"Does John have one too?" Elizabeth wondered as she piled her hair up on her head for a moment before letting it fall loose on her shoulders. "He looked rather nervous when Rodney was talking to him after the meeting."

"He does," Teyla admitted softly. "Rodney's taken it upon himself to see that everyone finds the same kind of bliss he has found with Doctor Brown," she finished as she handed Elizabeth a pair of gold earrings. "You do look very lovely, I should have taken you to the Balthieran Market before."

Elizabeth studied herself in the mirror and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. "You could tell me who John's going to be going with," she coaxed as she smoothed the silky fabric down across her stomach. The shirt Teyla had helped her trade for left more skin exposed of her cleavage than she thought was appropriate, but it was just a stupid Valentine's Day party.

"I could," Teyla agreed simply as she smiled, "but I decline."

"How did I know you would?" Elizabeth teased slipping her earrings into her ears and sniffing her wrists. She didn't usually wear perfume either, in fact, the woman in the mirror looked so unlike herself that she couldn't look away. She wasn't ready to split her focus and this was just a date for a dance, nothing more than that. Following Teyla into the hallway, she wondered if John would notice her. Dismissing that thought as foolish, Elizabeth still couldn't stop wondering what woman was lucky enough to be with him.  


* * *

"Why do I have to dress up?" John complained as he tugged at the collar of his black-buttoned shirt. "I look like a freak," he said to Ronon as they made their way down the hallway.

"You look nice," Ronon corrected him. "Attractive even," he grinned wolfishly and gave John a nudge down towards the cafeteria. "She'll like it."

"Who is 'she'?" John demanded again as he wondered what scientist Rodney had blackmailed into going to this dance with him. Elizabeth would probably be with that damn Mike again and that thought deepened his bad mood.

"Can't tell you," Ronon reminded him cheerfully. "It's your custom."

"It's a lousy one," John whined as he started to hear the music through the door ahead of him. "How long do I have to stay?"

Ronon opened the door and shoved him playfully into the cafeteria. "Get in there."

John looked over the crowd of expedition members in their best clothes and wondered why he had let Rodney talk him into going to the dance at all. He didn't like dancing much, and cared even less for Valentine's Day. Elizabeth was with Teyla over at the punch bowl and when she turned he forgot to complain about being there.

She was gorgeous in a pink, flowing top and she was here with someone else. John sighed and wondered if the punch had been spiked yet.  


* * *

"He's just over here," Teyla coaxed as Elizabeth followed her to a table where a man sat alone.

Ronon caught her shoulder as she walked by. "Want to dance?" he asked directly.

"I'd love to," she agreed immediately. Teyla smiled at him and pointed towards the table. "Elizabeth, your date will meet you there, if you don't mind waiting for him alone."

"Go, dance," Elizabeth wished her friend well and sighed down towards her punch. Deciding she'd better just get it over with, she walked over to the table. When she sat down she realized the man sitting across from her was John. "This explains why I couldn't find you," she teased with a small smile. "You've been a wallflower all evening."

"I'm," he paused and licked his lips nervously, "uh, waiting for my date."

Elizabeth felt the flush start on her cheeks. "Me too," she admitted sheepishly. "Did Rodney set you up?"

"Yeah," John tugged at his color, wishing it was cooler in the cafeteria. "I'm on a..."

"...blind date," Elizabeth finished for him shaking her head sheepishly. "Teyla told me."

"I couldn't say no," John agreed as he toyed with his cup. "I should've," he decided as he sighed. they sat in silence for awhile, trying not to look too hard at each other. "You look great," he blurted out when the silence got to him. "I really like..." he stopped abruptly when he realized he was ogling the smooth skin of her breasts.

"Thanks," Elizabeth answered self-consciously as her blush flared deeper across her pale skin. She started to cross her arms and stopped when she realized it would only make it worse. "You smell nice," she stammered in a similar fashion. "I don't think you usually wear that cologne."

"No," John replied nervously as he sniffed his shirt. "I don't usually bother, I'm more the showered equals clean kind of guy."

"Different can be nice sometimes," Elizabeth tried to steer the conversation away from him before she said something she'd regret.

"Are you waiting for Mike?" John asked suddenly, surprising her out of her daydreams about what lay under the buttons of his shirt.

"What?" she demanded curiously. "Mike who?" she thought for a moment before remembering, "Mike Branton?"

"Yeah, I thought you were..." John stumbled over his words, feeling like a kid at the prom, "...seeing him or something."

"Blind date," Elizabeth explained slowly realizing she hadn't seen him blush before. "Someone Rodney knows."

"Oh," John replied suddenly shy when he realized he'd been worrying about someone who meant nothing to her. When the idea formed in his mind, he stood up so quickly he startled her, nearly spilling her punch. "Let's just ditch them," he decided suddenly as he pushed back his chair and held out his hands to her. "Let's just go."

"Go where?" she asked feeling her heart race in her chest. Trying to keep her calm, Elizabeth stood and raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Wouldn't it be rude?"

John grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the dance floor. "You've suddenly decided you'd rather dance with me," he announced for her as he took her into his arms. Elizabeth's shirt felt silky beneath his hand as he slipped it around her back and he couldn't believe he'd done it.

"We couldn't keep it to ourselves anymore," she added, pretending she wasn't nearly light-headed as she dropped her hand to his shoulder. "Our secret longing for each other," Elizabeth continued with a wicked smile.

"You make it sound like I'm in love with you," John whispered into her ear as his hand slid up her back.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her head on his shoulder. "Maybe I fell for you first," she added. Her heart was racing away without the music and she wondered how much alcohol had been in the punch.

"Is this what we're going to tell Rodney?" John wondered as his lips brushed her forehead. Breathing in her scent was like discovering how to breathe for the first time. "That we sat there across from each other and just lost control?"

His hands belonged on her back, as if they were meant to be there against her flesh. "Maybe we got confused and thought we were there for each other," she whispered as she felt his cheek against her forehead.

"You and me on a blind date sounds like an idea McKay would like," John realized suddenly. "Do you think that was it?" He lifted his head, trying to see if Rodney had brought anyone back to the now empty table. "Can you see our dates over there?"

Surprising herself, but John most of all, Elizabeth grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. When he caught his breath he just stared at her with his beautiful mouth hanging slightly open in surprise.

"I'm jealous," Elizabeth explained with her hands still on his face. "I think about you with another woman and my heart leaps into my throat. I want to kill you whenever I hear from Rodney that you found the prettiest girl on the planet..."

John opened his mouth and closed it again. He tried to speak a second time and only got lost in her piercing green eyes. "I went down to Mike Branton's lab and sat through an entire hour-long lecture he gave me on hydrodroloy just so I could ask him if he was going on another date with you," he said as he realized one of his hands was up on the back of her neck.

"Elizabeth," he started feebly again.

Smiling softly, she kissed him in the gentlest way she could. "I came here thinking I'd have to see you with someone else, and dammit John," she paused and started to smile, "I'm just not going to let that happen."

He swallowed and returned the kiss, still tasting her on his lips when they parted. "Okay," he agreed, "Can we keep it that way? I'm afraid I'm the jealous type."  



End file.
